Thomas Edison State College: Portfolio Submissions (Was: Thomas Edison Grads)
Steve Levicoff
Because of my comments on the Thomas Edison State College
string, I've been inundated with requests for information on
how to do a portfolio at TESC. Since there appears to be
wide interest in this area, I've decided to save time by
responding here.
The requests for information are typified by the following
two examples of e-mail I've received in the past few days
(with some background facts changed to protect the innocent):
> I completed 5 semesters of college and have taken courses
> at other colleges. I have worked six years as a
> programmer, have published research papers, have been an
> MIS Director and advanced technology analyst, and do a
> weekly radio program on the Internet.
>
> I've been fortunate in my career and have advanced
> without my BA, but I'd like to get a BA in Computer
> Science, nonetheless. The difficulty I have is in trying
> to "read the mind" of TESC to see what constitutes a
> suitable format for a portfolio. I've never been a good
> "follow the instructions" student. I've always learned
> best by example.
>
> Also, I don't have all the code, analysis and reports I
> wrote years ago. How do I get credit for it?
>
> Ultimately, I'd even like to get an MS in Computer
> Science. I've determined that TESC is probably my best
> bet [for the bachelor's degree]. In the packets I've
> received from them, however, I haven't seen any examples
> of a computer science portfolio.
and:
> After having read your postings, I've decided to pursue
> TESC as my choice for consolidating my credits and
> experiences.
>
> I'm a fulltime police officer, world traveler and
> commercial pilot. I hope to get something out of all
> that. Do you know of any good references for doing well
> on the portfolio portion, so that I don't give up any
> credits and take full advantage of the ones potentially
> available to me?
Okay, campers, get out your notebooks . . . There will be a
quiz at the end of this post. But seriously . . .
The principle behind a TESC portfolio is that you should
demonstrate a knowledge of the subject you are challenging
for credit that is *approximately* equal to what a student
would have learned if he or she had taken the same course you
are challenging. No less, but no more.
How do you challenge a course by portfolio? First, you have
to decide what course you want to challenge, and it must be
an actual course that is offered at *any* regionally
accredited community college, four-year college, or
university. In other words, it's not enough to say, "I want
to submit a portfolio to earn three credits in computer
science," you must actually find a course in computer science
and challenge the *specific* course. For example, "I believe
that I have the knowledge necessary to challenge
'Introduction to Computer Science,' course number MIS-104, as
it is offered at XYZ University in Podunk, Idaho."
Therefore, *most* important resource as you begin to develop
your portfolio will be a library with a decent selection of
college catalogs. Your first step should be to locate such a
library, then spend an afternoon going through their stacks
of college catalogs. And take a lot of dimes, because you're
going to want to make a bunch of photocopies.
Now, grab a stack of catalogs from regionally accredited two-
year (junior) colleges and four-year colleges, have a seat,
and start leafing through the section of each catalog that
has the course listings *with* two or three-line course
descriptions. And simply look for *any* course title in
which you think you have sufficient knowledge to challenge.
It doesn't matter what the subject is. Why? Because, in
addition to subjects in your particular field, you will also
need credits to complete distribution requirements such as
liberal arts and free electives.
("Distribution requirements? Huh???" Okay, let's look at a
specific example. TESC's B.A. in Humanities requires that a
student complete 6 credits in written expression, 12 in
*each* of the three broad liberal arts areas - including
humanities, math and natural sciences, and social sciences,
18 additional liberal arts credits of your choice, 33 credits
for your major or specialization, and 27 credits in free
electives, for a total of 120 credits. In the math and
natural science area, you must include at least one course in
college-level math and one in computer science.)
Okay, where were we? (In the library, remember?) Now, if
you see a course that you think you can challenge, make a
photocopy of the catalog page with the short course
description, including the course number and number of
credits offered, and write the following *additional*
information somewhere on your copy: Name of the school at
which the course is offered, publication year of the catalog,
page number, and name of department that offers the course.
Then simply challenge the course through *TESC*.
In other words, say you like walking through the woods while
playing "Skip to My Lou" on the guitar. (Hell, it takes all
kinds.) Believe it or not, Kent State University offers a
two-credit course titled "Folk Guitar Class." Get hold of a
Kent State catalog, make a copy of the course description,
and create a portfolio submission in which you are
essentially saying to TESC, "I want to challenge 'Folk Guitar
Class' as it is offered at Kent State University for two
credits." Why will TESC know what the course comprises?
Because you will be submitting a photocopy of the course
description from Kent State's catalog with your submission.
That's it. Really, gang, that's the whole ball of wax. Do
that for any course you feel you can challenge based on your
current knowledge of a subject.
Now, some hints in choosing courses. First, be careful not
to "double dip." For example, don't try challenging courses
titled "19th Century American History" *and* "American
History 1800-1899" - they're the same course, and TESC will
pick up on this in a nanosecond.
Also, be sure you challenge the course under the correct
broad subject area - especially if it's a computer science
course. For example, "Introduction to Computer Science"
qualifies as for credit under the math and natural science
area because it has a significant math component. Ditto
certain programming courses such as BASIC, COBOL, and Pascal.
However, certain other programming and computer courses, such
as RPG or Microsoft Word, must be challenged under the free
electives area - they do not have a significant math
component.
Next, don't neglect an area in which you have expertise
merely because it's not in your field. Even though my own
B.A. from TESC is in liberal arts, I have several credits in
business - I challenged them under the free electives
heading. Likewise, if you're a business major but listen to
a lot of Beethoven, you can find a course on Beethoven and
challenge it under humanities, liberal arts electives, or
free electives.
The bottom line, especially if you want to go on to graduate
school: Just get the damn bachelor's degree and don't worry
about whether some of the courses see a bit inane. The key
point that a graduate school, or even an employer, will look
for is that you had the chutzpah to finish the degree and
that you hold a bachelor's degree *period*.
(By the way, for those who are curious, I did my own TESC
degree in a year and a half by earning 98 credits by
portfolio, testing out of another 16 credits, and carrying in
only six actual course credits by transfer. And yes, my
transcript includes not only the Kent State course in folk
guitar, but also such highly academic courses as CPR and word
processing.)
Also remember that the *most* important thing for you to
learn is how to legitimately "work the system." For example,
let's take the area of word processing. You can find a
three-credit course in word processing in most college
catalogs. Because it does not include a significant math
component, word processing must be challenged as a free
elective.
But why merely submit a portfolio for three credits in word
processing? If you look through the cataologues of junior or
community colleges, you might find *more* than one three-
credit course. Challenge them all. In other words, I could
have earned three credits in word processing by find a course
description on the subject in any four-year college catalog.
Instead, I located a school that had *three* courses in word
processing (for the curious, they were in the catalog of
Pierce Junior College in Philadelphia), then challenged all
three. How? By approaching them separately as courses in
basic word processing, advanced word processing, and word
processing supervision. And yes, I actually have *nine*
credits in word processing on my TESC transcript under the
free electives area. *That's* how to "work the system."
Also, make sure you select an adequate number of upper-level
courses and that you don't over-select junior college
courses. TESC places a limit on junior college credits (I
don't know what it is these days, but I think it was 90
credits when I was in the program). Upper level credits are
defined as any credits over six in the same subject area,
even if all of the course have lower-level numbers at the
schools at which they are offered. For example, if you are
challenging three 3-credit lower-level courses in, say,
"Baroque Piano," "Classical Piano," and "Impressionistic
Piano," and the catalogue from which you take the course
description numbers them "MUS 101, MUS 102, MUS 103," don't
sweat it - three of those credits will still be considered
upper level by TESC.
Okay. Now you've got a handful of course descriptions. What
do you do next? Go home, kick your Reeboks off, and watch
television. You've done enough work for one day.
Now you're ready to put your portfolio submissions together.
You'll need a separate binder or presentation folder for
*each* course submission, even if it's only two pages long.
(Yes, they can be that short. For my one-credit course in
CPR, I submitted a cover sheet plus a photocopy of my current
CPR certification. That was enough to earn the credit.)
The cover sheet is in a format provided by TESC, and includes
information on you and your degree program, the course title
and number of credits for which you are applying, and the
pasted-up photocopy of the course description along with the
institutional information. (Remember? That's the name of the
college where you found the course description, year the
catalog was published, page number, and department under
which the course is taught.)
Now, simply add the documentation that "validates" that you
have the knowledge in the subject that you claim to have.
The ease with which you do that depends on whether you've
saved a lot of stuff over the years, including your old
kitchen sink, or whether you have to scrounge for
documentation.
Remember that your validating evidence can take the form of
documents, written products, audio or videotapes, or merely a
list of books you have read in a subject. You can earn
credit on a portfolio in any of three ways: (1) on evidence
alone, (2) by testing, or (3) through a combination of
evidence and testing.
Let's say, for example, that you are challenging a course
called "Business Writing." You can submit examples of your
actual business writing such as significant correspondence,
memoranda, or perhaps a policy or procedure manual you have
written. And make sure they're as tight-assed as possible;
challenging a writing course by submitting documents with
typos, grammatical errors, or errors in punctuation won't cut
it.
Are you challenging a course in computer science? No
problem, just submit copies of programs you have written, or
of disks which your course evaluator can use to run the
programs. (And if you submit disks, hide the code. That
way, even if you break "the rules of programming," the
evaluator will only see the result - that the program works -
and will not grade you on the theory behind the programming.)
Now, the obvious question is, "How will the evaluator know
that *I* wrote the manuals, the programs, etc.?" That's
where the second most important type of evidence comes into
play: letters of validation. Get anyone who is qualified to
write validation letters attesting to your knowledge of the
subject you are challenging. Remember that they are to be
*validation* letters, not recommendation or reference
letters. You don't want your boss to write a letter saying,
"Joe is a great guy and takes his coffee with cream and
sugar" - that doesn't attest to your knowledge of a subject.
You want him or her to write a letter that validates the
claims you have made in your portfolio: "Joe is our Human
Resources Director. His job responsibilities include
recruiting, performance evaluations, and salary analysis. He
has written our company's personnel and benefits
administration manuals." That's validation.
Some course submissions require minimal documentation,
especially if they require a credential. In addition to CPR,
other examples include Red Cross First Aid (yes, there are
college courses available in this), holding a pilot's license
or a cosmetology license, a CNA or CNE certification if you
are a programmer or MIS administrator, a nursing or medical
certification, a commercial driver's license, or even if you
are a licensed funeral director (yes, there are college
courses for morticians). In fact, if you hold *any* type of
license or certification, you should look for automatically
look for courses in your field. The rule of thumb is simple:
There is a college course offered *somewhere* in virtually
any topic you can imagine. (Hell, even Berkeley offers a
course titled "The Films of Keanu Reeves.")
What if you don't have enough documentation to pursue credit
on evidence alone? Then go for the testing option.
Let's go back to "Folk Guitar Class" for a moment. There's
not a lot of theory in this area; as Ethel merman sang in
Gypsy, "You either got it . . . or you don't." For my credit
in folk guitar, I met with TESC's evaluator (a music
professor at Mercer County Community College) and played a
few songs on the guitar. (By the way, I also challenged
voice, piano, solfeggio (sight singing), performance class,
choral singing, and a few other music courses. After a two-
hour meeting with the evaluator, I walked out with 20 credits
in various music subjects. (The meeting included a written
exercise in which I had to develop a four-part harmony to a
written melody line. Still, not bad for two hours in which
all I basically had to do was play and sing. Now if only I
had added a dance course. But then, the professor wasn't my
type.)
By the way, when using the testing option, try to go for an
*oral* exam whenever possible. There may be a difference
between your perspective and your evaluator's perspective on
a subject, and an oral examination allows you to sway the
discussion closer to *your* perspective. Example, I
challenged a course titled "Canada." My perspective was
focused on culture and politics, but the evaluator's
perspective was focused on economics and early history. I
made the mistake of opting for a written exam and didn't know
diddly-squat about the questions the evaluator had developed.
On the other hand, I challenged another course titled "Arms
Control & Disarmament" under a combined evidence-testing
option. My focus was on political issues, but the evaluator
focused on technical issues like weapons systems.
Fortunately, I had asked for an oral exam, and was able to
sway the focus and carry on an *intelligent* 20-minute phone
conversation that resulted in the evaluator saying that I
knew more than he did, thus I deserved the credit. Remember:
keep it oral, not written, wherever you can.
Finally, think *broad*. (Remember, the nature of a
bachelor's degree is to demonstrate "breadth and depth.")
You may have documentation that you can use as evidence for
more than one course. (This is different than double
dipping, in which you attempt to challenge more than one
course with different titles but the same content.) For
example, my first book, published in 1982, was "Building
Bridges: The Prolife Movement and the Peace Movement."
(Don't bother reading it. It's out of print now, and I think
of it as a piece of crap compared with my later books.)
Because it was interdisciplinary, I was able to use it as
evidence for portfolios on courses titled "Advanced Writing:
Academic Forms," "Arms Control & Disarmament," and "A
Comprehensive Analysis of Abortion," and "Toward a Theology
of Peace."
If you have a thorough knowledge of COBOL, for example, you
can use that knowledge to challenge *more* than one course,
say, "Introduction to Computer Science" *and* "Programming in
COBOL." If you have ever presented a lecture on, say, "The
Migration of Monarch Butterflies," you can use it for credit
in a course on butterflies, and if you have an audiotape of
your lecture (and if it's a good, well-delivered lecture) you
can use it to challenge a course in public speaking.
Remember that you will be assigned a portfolio advisor at
TESC - he or she is the person who does the initial review of
your submissions, then sends them out to individual course
evaluators (who, for the most part, teach the subjects you
have challenged at other colleges and universities in New
Jersey and in nearby states). Make use of your advisor. If
you are unsure of what you are doing, submit a sample
portfolio to make sure you are doing it right so you won't
have multiple submissions bouncing back on you later. Also
make sure you order a copy of TESC's portfolio guide and read
it *completely* for other hints, but don't feel as if you're
locked into one particular model.
Now go for it, and stop bothering me. :-)
,-~~-.___.
/ | ' \
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\_/-, ,----'
==== //
/ \-'~; /~~~(O)
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=( _____| (_________|
----------------------------
Steve Levicoff
<levi...@ix.netcom.com>
----------------------------
P.S. For the curious, here's a copy of my transcript from
TESC showing my course distribution and how I got
the credits:
BACHELOR OF ARTS, HUMANITIES
Thomas A. Edison State College
(1987)
WRITTEN EXPRESSION (6)
----------------------
Advanced Writing - Academic Forms Portfolio 3
Business English Portfolio 3
HUMANITIES (12)
---------------
Solfeggio & Dictation I Course 2*
Keyboard Harmony I Course 1*
Performance Class Course 1
Chorus Course 2
Radio Production I Portfolio 3
Mass Media Portfolio 3
SOCIAL SCIENCES (13)
--------------------
Alcohol Abuse - Fund. Facts TECEP 3
Substance Abuse - Fund. Facts TECEP 4
Society & Sexual Variations Portfolio 3
Arms Control & Disarmament Portfolio 3
MATH/NATURAL SCIENCE (12)
-------------------------
BASIC TECEP 3
Intro. to Computers & Program Design Portfolio 3
Human Reproductive Biology & Behavior Portfolio 3
Astronomy DANTES 3
LIBERAL ARTS ELECTIVES (18)
---------------------------
A Comprehensive Analysis of Abortion Portfolio 3*
Advanced Radio Production Portfolio 3*
Public Speaking I Portfolio 3
Broadcast Journalism I Portfolio 3*
Rudiments of Music Portfolio 3*
Folk Music in the United States Portfolio 3*
CONCENTRATION AREA (33)
-----------------------
Public Speaking II Portfolio 3
Intro. to News Reporting TECEP 3*
Publicity Methods in Organizations Portfolio 3*
Recording Studio Portfolio 2*
Harmony I Portfolio 3*
Applied Piano Portfolio 3*
Elementary Voice Portfolio 3*
Folk Guitar Class Portfolio 2*
Theology of the Cults Portfolio 3
Christian Social Ethics Portfolio 3
Toward a Theology of Peace Portfolio 3*
Roman Catholic Theology Portfolio 2*
FREE ELECTIVES (26)
-------------------
Administrative Management & Supervision Portfolio 3
Word Processing I Portfolio 3
Word Processing II Portfolio 3
Word Processing III Portfolio 3
Intro. to Publishing Portfolio 3
Piano Service Playing Portfolio 1*
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Portfolio 1
Technical Writing Portfolio 3
Purchasing & Contracting Portfolio 3
Personnel Management Portfolio 3
PRE-GRADUATION CONFERENCE
-------------------------
Philosophy At TESC 0**
* Upper-level credit.
** Required for B.A. programs at the time,
but no academic credit is given.
Tom Meyer
of pesky classes. Sorry, I couldn't resist after you semi (no pun
intended) trashed me for my heavy use of abbreviations in what you
suspected might be lousy credentials. My apologies for not spelling out
IHOP in my last post. Ask around, someone will know!
Tom Meyer
Please run all flames through spell check before you trash my grammer.
"Holier than thou" looks so much better when you write as well as you
think you do!
Jonathan Whatley
In article <6bd9s8$7...@dfw-ixnews4.ix.netcom.com>,
Steve Levicoff <levi...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> Get hold of a Kent State catalog, make a copy of the course
> description, and create a portfolio submission in which you
> are essentially saying to TESC, "I want to challenge 'Folk
> Guitar Class' as it is offered at Kent State University for
> two credits." Why will TESC know what the course comprises?
> Because you will be submitting a photocopy of the course
> description from Kent State's catalog with your submission.
Given how brief catalog descriptions often are, it may help
to seek out more detailed course outlines. These may help
give a better idea of what areas are covered, what outcomes
are evaluated for and how. These may be found by asking the
institutions, or sometimes by rummaging around their web sites.
Looking over materials on the reading list or other textbooks
in the subject could also help to fill out one's picture.
> The bottom line, especially if you want to go on to graduate
> school: Just get the damn bachelor's degree and don't worry
> about whether some of the courses see a bit inane. The key
> point that a graduate school, or even an employer, will look
> for is that you had the chutzpah to finish the degree and
> that you hold a bachelor's degree *period*.
Yeah, graduate schools are notoriously uncompetitive...??
Jonathan Whatley
io...@interlog.com
Steve Levicoff
io...@interlog.com (Jonathan Whatley) writes:
>Given how brief catalog descriptions often are, it may help
>to seek out more detailed course outlines. These may help
>give a better idea of what areas are covered, what outcomes
>are evaluated for and how. These may be found by asking the
>institutions, or sometimes by rummaging around their web sites.
>Looking over materials on the reading list or other textbooks
>in the subject could also help to fill out one's picture.
This isn't a bad idea if you do not know what a course comprises or
what the standards are for knowledge in a subject area, but it is
unnecessary for a portfolio submission; all that is required is the
short course description from the catalog. If you read enough course
descriptions, you'll know what is required. If you don't, then you
probably don't have enough knowledge of the subject area to challenge
the course in the first place.
>Yeah, graduate schools are notoriously uncompetitive...??
It may be iuntended as sarcasm, but the statement happens to be true,
Jonathan. They are as uncompetitive, or as competitive, as the student
wants them to be. If your idea is to screw the next guy, you'll end up
getting screwed yourself.
The reality is simple: You are going to school to get the degree,
period. If it were simply a matter of getting the education, you can
do that on your own just as well as if you had enrolled in a degree
program, and you need not bother with a degree at all. Guess what,
campers: life is more than a G.P.A. (And, for the curious, I've never
had a G.P.A. - and never needed one.)
Steve Levicoff
Tom Meyer <mey...@sprynet.com> writes:
>Wow! That is Liberal! Seems like they really made you sit through a
>lot of pesky classes. Sorry, I couldn't resist after you semi (no
>pun intended) trashed me for my heavy use of abbreviations in what you
>suspected might be lousy credentials. My apologies for not spelling
>out IHOP in my last post. Ask around, someone will know!
>
>Tom Meyer
>
>Please run all flames through spell check before you trash my grammer.
>"Holier than thou" looks so much better when you write as well as you
>think you do!
Tom,
I'm not quite sure what the point of your message is. But, for what
it's worth, I occasionally hop too, and I make many mistakes thanks to
the wonders of the word processor and the desire to edit posts quickly
and get my butt away from the computer. There is, of course, a
differenc between computer-related typographical and grammatical errors
versus those that are more commonly made by those who haven't bothered
to learn from their mistakes. Like writing "grammer" instead of the
correct *grammar.*
As for pesky classes, the transcript that I openly copied will reveal
that I took no classes whatsoever for my B.A., having done 98 credits
by portfolio, 16 by testing out, and transferring only 6 class credits
that I earned more than a dozen years earlier - and pulled the whole
thing off in a year and a half. (So I don't get called on the carpet
for inaccuracy, it was exactly one year, ten months from matriculation
to date of graduation thanks to the administrative paperwork lag.)
Now, do I think I learned anything in the course of my bachelor's
degree? Hell, no, although I did learn how to work the system. But
learning was not my B.A. goal; my goal was to get into graduate school
(which I did), where I would ultimately learn to master my subject
majors. Everyone has their own goals, and the whole point to doing so
with credibility is still choosing regionally accredited institutions
(at least for U.S. students) at which to earn their degrees.
Oh, by the way, I never put my posts through a spellchecker. Since I
use Netcruiser software to compose posts, I can't be bothered.
Fortunately, I don't give a hoot. But then, I never complain about
people's "grammer," just their *grammar.*
And most important of all, I rarely take myself seriously.